The Royal Academy was in a state of chaos.
Not demon attack chaos, but the kind caused by gossip and a new student.
A very unusual new student.
Headmaster Whitehall stood at the podium in the main hall. He looked more exasperated than usual.
"Students, may I have your attention." His voice, magically amplified, echoed through the hall.
"Today we welcome a new transfer student."
A figure stepped from behind the podium. The entire student body went silent.
Marcus, standing near the back with Theodore, felt his jaw drop.
She was an elf. A high elf, if the stories were true.
Silver-white hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall of moonlight. Pointed ears peeked through the strands. Her eyes were a shade of violet he'd never seen before, ancient and curious.
She moved with an inhuman grace that made everyone else look clumsy.
"This is Lady Iris Silvermoon," the Headmaster announced.
"She joins us as part of a new cultural exchange program with the Elven Enclaves."
A cultural exchange. Right.
Marcus knew a cover story when he heard one.
The elven enclaves hadn't had a cultural exchange with humans in two hundred years.
They were famously isolationist.
Which meant she was here for the prophecy. She was here for Theodore.
"Please make her feel welcome," the Headmaster continued.
"Her presence marks a new era of cooperation between our peoples."
Iris gave a small, polite nod.
Her expression was one of detached curiosity.
Like a scientist observing a particularly interesting ant farm.
"An elf," Theodore whispered beside Marcus. "I've never seen one up close."
"Behave yourself," Marcus whispered back.
"Can they see in the dark? Are they better archers because of their eyesight?
What's their average combat reaction time?"
"Those are not appropriate first questions, Theo."
"They're important questions!"
✧✧✧
Iris's POV:
Iris Silvermoon began her observation of the Child of Destiny.
Her first report back to the Elven Conclave would be... concise.
-----
Subject: Theodore Aldridge.
Age: 17.
Species: Human.
Role: Prophesied Hero.
-----
Observation 1:
Combat Magic Class. Subject displayed zero interest in magic.
Instead, he spent the entire lesson practicing sword stances.
He challenged the instructor, a formidable A-rank mage, to a duel. He won.
Conclusion: Subject is highly skilled in martial combat but has the magical aptitude of a rock.
-----
Observation 2:
Lunch in the dining hall. Subject consumed three times the standard portion.
He spoke to no one except to ask for more bread.
When a female student attempted conversation, he responded by explaining the optimal weight distribution of a longsword.
The female student left in confusion.
Conclusion: Subject's social skills are comparable to the aforementioned rock.
-----
Observation 3:
Afternoon training session. Subject spent four consecutive hours hitting training dummies.
He broke seven. This is apparently a new record.
His focus was absolute. His form was perfect. His passion for combat was undeniable.
-----
Overall Assessment:
This is the hero meant to unite the world?
He is... a very sharp rock.
He possesses great strength but no discernible personality beyond "swords."
The prophecy mentioned "bonds of heart and soul."
This subject seems unlikely to form bonds with anything that doesn't have a hilt.
-----
Iris stood in the observation gallery, watching Theodore destroy his eighth training dummy.
Her expression was one of profound disappointment.
She'd spent five hundred years studying history, philosophy, and magic.
She'd watched human kingdoms rise and fall.
She understood the complexities of politics and the nuances of human emotion better than most humans.
And this was their champion?
This simple, one-dimensional boy?
Her mission was to assess him.
To see if he was worthy of an elven alliance. The first alliance in two centuries.
So far, the assessment was not going well.
Her gaze drifted from Theodore. It fell upon the other figure in the observation gallery.
The older brother. Marcus Aldridge.
She'd observed him too. Not as her mission, but out of curiosity.
He was a strange human.
His reputation suggested a failed noble, a drunk, a scoundrel.
But the man she saw was different.
He watched his brother not with jealousy, but with a mixture of pride and exasperation.
His eyes were kind. Perceptive.
When he looked at people, he didn't just see them. He seemed to understand them.
-----
Subject: Marcus Aldridge.
Age: 23 (physical).
Species: Human.
Role: Scoundrel Older Brother.
-----
Observation 1:
At his brother's enrollment. Stood in the background. Watched everyone.
Understood the social dynamics instantly.
Had a panic attack upon realizing his brother's romantic incompetence. Fascinating.
-----
Observation 2:
Interacting with Professor Ashwood. She is a woman trapped in grief.
He saw through her armor in one conversation.
He gave her permission to be human. A profound act of emotional intelligence.
-----
Observation 3:
Interacting with Duchess Roselle. A leader drowning in responsibility.
He diagnosed her burnout and staged an intervention.
Not with pity, but with logic. Effective.
-----
Observation 4:
Interacting with Countess Blackthorn. A retired warrior grieving her own life.
He didn't offer comfort. He offered truth.
"You still are someone. You just need to remember who." A powerful, validating statement.
-----
Conclusion:
Subject Marcus Aldridge is far more interesting than the Child of Destiny.
He possesses no combat skill. No magic.
But he has an SSS-rank understanding of the human heart.
-----
Iris watched as Marcus sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as Theodore moved on to a new training dummy.
The expression on his face was one of fond despair.
He was trying to help his brother.
Trying to guide him. Trying to save the world by proxy.
And failing spectacularly because his own nature kept getting in the way.
He helped Seraphina, and she started smiling at him.
He helped Catarina, and she started writing him letters.
He helped Vivienne, and she started hunting him at social events.
This is the most illogical and fascinating human behavior I have witnessed in three hundred years.
Iris's mission was to observe the prophesied hero.
But the hero was boring.
A predictable story of strength and combat.
The older brother, however, was a mystery.
A paradox. A man whose greatest strength was his empathy, and whose empathy was actively derailing his own plans.
The prophecy states the Child of Destiny will unite the realms, Iris thought.
But what if the prophecy is wrong?
Or what if we've been watching the wrong brother?
The idea was radical. Heretical, even.
The Elven Conclave would dismiss it.
But Iris had lived for five hundred years.
She'd learned that prophecies were rarely straightforward.
She watched Marcus pull out a notebook and start scribbling.
Probably more terrible dating advice for his brother.
A small smile touched Iris's lips for the first time that day.
Her mission was to observe the Child of Destiny.
But maybe her real purpose here was to understand the strange, kind, sad-eyed man who was accidentally stealing his brother's entire story.
The sharp rock could wait.
The interesting paradox was far more worthy of study.